British local politician says his son is among 9 Syria-bound Britons arrested in Turkey

LONDON – A local politician in Britain says his son is one of nine Britons arrested in Turkey while allegedly trying to get to Syria.

Shakil Ahmed, a Labour Party councilor in Rochdale, northwest England, said Thursday he had believed his university student son was in Birmingham, England. Ahmed said he was "shocked, worried and extremely upset" to learn he was in Turkey.

British police say the group detained in Turkey on Wednesday includes three men, two women and four children aged 1 to 11. They are being deported to Britain.

The nine are among a spate of recent cases of U.K. citizens trying to reach areas of Syria controlled by the Islamic State group. Several have been apprehended, but three teenage schoolgirls are believed to have reached Syria in February.